The stolen vote

The way the US Presidential Election has been conducted means that it has already been lost. Irrespective of the outcome, the damage has been done. So much mud has been slung as to obscure all other considerations and deliberation on all substantive issues is suspended. All that remains is to prevent a fascist becoming president.

We require candidates for public office that respect common standards of civilised debate: the presentation of reliable evidence, its rational evaluation, the compassionate temperament of the conclusions we draw and the actions we take as a result. Donald Trump fails miserably in all regards.

And where the need to react to his histrionics takes precedence over the formulation and promotion of meaningful policy, it is in effect a form of censorship. I am highly critical of many aspects of Clinton's platform. But I won't go into that here. This is not the time or place. It should be, but events militate against it.

Nevertheless, Clinton does not reject the process whereby she can be challenged. However, Trump does. You can disagree with Clinton. Good luck trying to disagree with Trump.  I find many of Clinton's policies and decisions problematic. But there is one problem bigger than all of those those, and he's called Trump.

Clinton submits herself to a democratic process. To Trump, that process is a mere instrument of his ego, an arena for his tantrums. Trump makes no effort whatsoever to persuade, and persuasion is the basis of democracy, while the unchallenged assertions of the strong man forms the basis of fascism.

So we can argue about what this election is about, citing any number of hot topics and special interests and long-standing concerns. What it has become about as a result of the conduct of the candidates transcends all the divisions these considerations reveal among us and all the decisions we can collectively make about them. It is now just about the prevention of fascism.

Think of your most pressing concern, the particular policy area that features most prominently in your estimation of the different candidates. This election is no longer about that. It is about your concerns no more than curing a plague or preventing an asteroid impact is about them. One concern over-rides all others. Whatever your problem is, Trump is not the answer, and must be stopped. The point of this election is no longer the issue that first troubled you. The point is preventing a fascist becoming president. And to that extent, he has already stolen this election.

I do not agree that the people have been denied a choice due to the poor quality of the candidates available. The Green Party's Jill Stein is on the ballot. She must stand as one of the great losers today, the votes that would have ensured future ballot access and campaign funding stolen by the over-riding imperative of stopping Trump. No, if we are to blame this situation on an impoverishment of democratic resources, the finger should point towards the decades of dumbing down and narrowing of intellectual horizons that delivers an electorate vulnerable to Trump's fascist glamour.

It is becoming impossible now to engage with the torrent of unsubstantiated hysterical assertion from Trump supporters, such is their sheer volume and insanity.

• Where you want a rational discussion, they want to perform an exorcism.
• Where you want to present evidence, they want to show you a prophecy written in hieroglyphics proclaiming that Hillary is a demon.
• Where you want to exercise democratic rights and duties, they want to portray themselves as victims of some elaborate conspiracy that allows them to abdicate all responsibility.
• Where you appeal to the authority of experts, they point to some click-bait concocted for profit.
• Where you want to find out the truth in relation to particular matters of interest, they want to dismiss everything as a lie.

There is no need to re-iterate Trump's shortcomings here, his lies and xenophobia and bigotry and targeting of scapegoats. These are all abundantly evident at every turn. You don't need to hack his email to find out all the things that should disqualify him from office. He openly displays these on the podium at every rally. His supporters don't care, as long as his incoherent tirades spare them the pain and effort of articulating their own frustrations in a genuinely effective manner.

Democracy is not possible under these circumstances.